
THE FATTENING OF SHEEP IN WINTER. 



A PAPER 



READ AT THE 



ANNUAL MEETING 



Ifcfo fck $Mt Agricultural Sforietg, 



February 11, 1869, 




OF AC 



By JURIAN WINNE, 

Of Bethlehem, Albany County, N. Y. 



PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 



ALB AX Y: 

THE ARGUS COMPANY, PRINTERS. 
1869. 



LIBRAET 



OK THE 



U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



Glass 



_ 



THE FATTENING OF SHEEP IN WINTER. 



A PAPER 



BEAD AT THE 



AKIUAL MEETING 



tfo §oxk £ti&t g^ricitltoral ^natty, 



February 11, 1869, 



By JURIAN W I N N E, 

Of Bethlehem, Albany County, N. Y. 




PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 



ALBANY : 

THE ARGUS COMPANY, PRINTERS. 
1869. 






THE FATTENING OF SHEEP IN WINTER. 



The subject before us is " The Managing and Feeding of Fat Sheep 
in Winter," together with the difference in the various breeds. My 
first rule is, always to buy good stock, whatever the breed may be, 
and to be sure to select animals kindly disposed to fatten. The price 
of well bred sheep may appear to be high, but depend upon it if there 
is no money in feeding good stock, there is no money in poor. It will 
not do (as has often been said) to buy any kind of sheep for feeding, 
that you can double your money upon ; for a one-dollar sheep will 
consume about as much feed as a six-dollar one, and as neither of 
them can be fed through the feeding season for much short of five 
dollars a head, you will readily perceive that the one-dollar sheep 
would stand you in six dollars, the other eleven dollars. 

According to my experience, the one-dollar sheep would weigh in 
the spring about eighty pounds, and sell for seven cents per pound, 
which would make five dollars and sixty cents — a loss of forty cents, 
when the six-dollar one would weigh at least one hundred and twenty- 
five pounds, and sell for ten cents per pound, making twelve dollars 
and fifty cents — a profit of one dollar and fifty cents, besides getting 
the credit in the one case of bringing good stock to market, and in the 
other such as will be hooted at, and reported for you as scalawags. 
Now, as every good citizen values his reputation (and what is a man 
good for without it), I think this last item should not be lost sight of. 

Next in order then, will be the conveniences for fattening. It is 
bad policy in this country to undertake to fatten sheep in winter, 
with no protection or shelter, save a few trees or the side of some old 
building. I recollect an instance of that kind of feeding, which I 
went • to see some ten years ago, where a man had about 300 sheep 



,4 The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 

feeding, running in a four or five acre lot, without any protection, 
save such as I have just described. It rained a little while I was 
there, the ground was soft, although it was February, and his sheep 
(though otherwise nice good ones), looked wet, lank and muddy ; his 
feeding troughs were in this lot, all covered with mud, and some of 
the feed, on account of the mud in the trough, was left. I expostu- 
lated with him about his slovenly manner of feeding. He replied 
that he could do no better. I said to myself, this is your first and 
last winter for feeding, and so it was. 

My buildings, which it will be well to describe as fully as possible, 
were put up with as much reference to storing the products of the 
farm as for protecting and sheltering the sheep. The barn first in 
order, is nearly surrounded by other buildings; it is forty-four by 
fifty-two feet, with twenty-foot posts, with upper and lower floors ; 
horse and cow stables and granary, all below. Into this barn goes all 
the grain I raise, first, and then as much feeding hay as it will hold 
— and there was room this year for but very little. 

"When I thrash my grain (which I always do in the fall), I put the 
straw mostly back into this larger barn for feed and litter. The 
granary in this barn will hold about 600 bushels of grain, and has an 
alley through the middle, where the corn, oil-meal, etc., is mixed for 
feeding the sheep. The upper and lower floors of the barn are used 
for hay, straw, etc., from one feeding to another. I have a wagon or 
carriage house close to this barn, twenty by thirty feet, with cellar 
the whole size, eight feet in the clear, middle and upper floors. This 
cellar is used exclusively for roots. The roots are generally cut by 
machine, and every day, at half-past twelve, are fed to the sheep. 
When I have plenty of them, we feed daily at the rate of from three 
to four bushels to the hundred. The middle floor of this building is 
used for carriages, sleighs, harness, etc., and the upper floor for grain 
for the sheep, and holds from 1,500 to 1,600 bushels (not without 
studding the beams however). After the feeding and watering is 
finished in the morning, the grain that is needed from the wagon 
house is brought down and mixed with oil-meal, etc., in the alley 



The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 5 

heretofore mentioned, in the granary in the barn, for the next two 
feedings. 

The next building I shall mention, which I will call shed number 
one, is twenty-one by twenty-four feet, sixteen foot posts ; on the 
south side of the barn. The upper part of this building is filled in 
summer with market hay, which is pressed out and sold in the fall, 
the floor covered with sawdust and leaves, and when the time arrives, 
forty sheep are put up and kept there until they are sold in the spring. 
Of all my feeding yards and stables, I always find that these second- 
story sheep do the best. The lower part of this building has manure 
piled under it in summer, as I always like to have what manure is 
not used in the spring under cover through the hot weather ; it is 
taken out clean in the fall, and the shed arranged the same as the 
upper part, and, together with an open yard about twenty-four by 
sixty feet holds sixty sheep. These sheep always have the run of this 
yard with the shed, except when it is stormy, and then they are closely 
confined to the shed. 

The next in order is a small shed in rear of number one, about ten 
by twenty feet, in which stock rams are kept. The next is another 
low shed, west of barn, about fourteen by twenty-four feet, for breeding 
ewes. Both these sheds have small yards attached for good weather, 
are used in summer for piling manure under, are cleaned out in the 
fall, and receive, like number one, a coating of sawdust and leaves, 
when they are ready again for the sheep. 

Next comes another shed, also west of the barn, thirty by seventy- 
two feet, with twenty foot posts. The upper part of this building is 
also filled with market hay in summer, pressed out and sold in the 
fall, and the floor then covered with sawdust and leaves, the same as 
number one and the others. 

Although I say that I put in sawdust and leaves in the fall, I will 
correct that a little by saying that sometimes, as I have done this year, 
and as I always advise when practicable, I put in the sawdust before 
harvest on these upper floors. It then has time to get nice and dry, 
thereby not only preserving the floor better, but also absorbing the 



6 The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 

more liquid manure from the animals. The lower part of this build- 
ing is also used for piling manure under in summer, and in the fall 
is treated the same as the other. Before the sheep are brought into 
this building in the fall, we put up, made expressly for the purpose, 
and put away in summer, three partitions on the upper floor and 
three partitions below. This gives us four pens above and four below, 
each eighteen by thirty feet. Each of these pens holds forty-five 
sheep, which makes 180 for the upper floor, and 180 below, or 
altogether for this building, 360 sheep. On account of the lower part 
of this building being lower than the upper one, I have for each of 
these lower pens a small yard attached, about ten by eighteen feet, 
which in good weather they always get with their pens. Ventilating 
windows are also provided for all the pens, and are always regulated 
according to the weather. Two of these lower pens have two cisterns, 
supplied from the roof of this shed and one side of the barn, which 
generally, but not always, keep the sheep in this building supplied 
with water. 

The next building is a shed, a " lean-to," on the north side of the 
barn, twenty by forty-four feet, used as the others, for piling manure 
under in summer, cleaned out and treated same as the others in the fall, 
and holding seventy sheep. The upper part is used for straw, corn 
stalks, &c, in winter. Under this shed I have a well which, besides 
its natural supply, gets what water this roof brings, together with the 
other side of the barn and another shed not yet mentioned. This 
shed has no yard. 

The next, and last permanent shed (although I had another tem- 
porary one I used last winter), is thirty-five by thirty-six feet, eighteen 
foot posts. The upper part of this shed is filled in summer with 
feeding hay for the sheep, to be fed out in winter ; twenty-one by 
thirty-six feet of this shed has also manure piled under in summer, 
used as the others in the fall, and together with an open yard about 
thirty-six by forty feet, holds seventy-five sheep. These seventy-five 
sheep, together with the yard containing sixty sheep, get their water 
from a well standing between the two yards. Of this shed, four- 



The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 7 

teen by thirty-six feet, is floored and partitioned; one-half of it is 
used for a horse stable when needed, and into the other half I always 
put twenty of my best sheep. 

I have now given, as well as I can, a description of the buildings 
and arrangements I use, and although many of you may have better 
ones, still I must say I am very well satisfied with mine. I will now 
say something of feeding apparatus, and may premise that all claimed 
improvements in sheep feeding arrangements that have come under 
my observation for the last ten or twelve years I have always exa- 
mined very carefully, but have universally found, after looking them 
over, that for fattening sheep, all things considered, they were no 
better than mine. For breeding sheep, however, I think there are 
better ones. I have a feeding box (after which I made others) sent 
me by my friend, William Chamberlain, Esq., the noted fine-wool 
sheep breeder, which for breeding sheep is all that could be desired, 
as we can afford to take a little more time, and have a little waste 
and trouble with a few nice breeders. When, however, we come 
to fattening five, six or eight hundred sheep, it makes quite a difference 
whether one man can take care of them, or whether we must have 
two ; as an extra hand through the feeding season will cost, wages and 
board, with us, at least $150. Then, also, it makes quite a difference 
whether 500 sheep waste a pint of grain per day, which I am satis- 
fied was more than my whole flock wasted last winter, or whether 
they waste half a bushel per day ; and I have seen more than that 
wasted by bad fixtures and management, thereby causing loss and dis- 
couragement to the person engaged in feeding. Also, whether we 
waste 100 pounds of hay per day, or whether 400 or 500 pounds will 
cover the waste for all winter. These wastings are what hurts, and 
although it looks like but a little, when you come to figure it up you 
will be surprised to see what it amounts to. 

My apparatus or feeding box for feeding, hay, grain, roots, etc., 
which it took me four years to perfect, and which you are all at 
liberty to use if you like it, is from twelve to fourteen feet long, 
twenty-two inches wide, with a tight bottom; the upper sides 




The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 

let in by the scantling at the ends 
and middle, and all the box except 
the bottom put together with good 
stout screws. (See annexed figure 
and description originally published 
in the Country Gentleman.) I claim 
for this box economy, expedition and 
cleanliness. 

The sheep cannot upset the feeder 

Description of the Feeding Box.— Feeding nor ^jg basket as he Carries it On 
Box 12 or 14 ft. long, and 22 inches wide— the 

bottom slanting from both sides and resting on J^g shoulder 01* ill his arms to the 
a board in the middle, forming a complete 

trough for grain or roots. The bottom side nrs t box; lie Walks Up perfectly 
boards should be 11 or 12 inches wide— then a 

space left of 8 or io inches, according to size straight and scatters the feed from 

of sheep— then the top boards, 8 inches wide — 

the ends and sides to match. Corner pieces the basket evenly and quickly 
of scantling in the inside, of hemlock or oak, 

as pine will not hold a nail or screw, the latter through all the boxes in the yard, 
of which is preferable in putting them to- 
gether, the sheep falling in behind him 

jnst as well drilled soldiers fall in line at the tap of the drum ; the 
whole time consumed for putting grain in four of these boxes for 
seventy-five sheep, not being more than one minute. Then, also, the 
space being but from eight to ten inches wide there is no chance 
for the sheep to get more than their heads through; and the box being 
but twenty-two inches wide, there is no need for crowding or strain- 
ing to reach their feed, but each animal stands quietly and com- 
fortably until his meal is finished. Also, every experienced sheep- 
man knows that sheep always crowd up to their feed instead of away 
from it ; consequently with a good feeding box no hay or grain can 
be wasted. 

As I said before, four of these boxes can have grain put in, in one 
minute. Hay, straw, roots, etc., can also be put in very quickly, as 
the boys often take hay enough at once for two boxes, drop part in 
one, and the balance in the other, when, by a little shake with the 
fork, it is scattered evenly through the box. The same also with 
roots, as the feeder, when he gets to the first box, can put them in so 






The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 9 

quick, that, let the sheep come as fast as they can, they cannot catch 
him before he is through. 

These boxes have only to be turned over and back again, and they 
are clean. No dirt can get in from the sides, as the space between 
the upper and lower boards is too narrow, and the box being from 
twenty-eight to thirty inches high, no dirt can get in from the top, 
consequently, when the box is turned over and back again, it is always 
clean. 

As to feed, water, litter, salt, etc., I must first and most par- 
ticularly urge the feeder to be sure and have plenty of them, of a 
good quality, and to have it right there. It is not very good economy 
to depend upon your neighbors, when you biiy your feed, or any 
part of it, to bring it to you from day to day, but you should always 
have at least two weeks' or more feed on hand, when you will be 
all right, come fair weather or foul. I have seen a case of that kind, 
where a lot of fat sheep were obliged to go without their grain for 
a whole day, on account of a disappointment, which could not be 
made good again in three days' feeding. Water, too, should be looked 
after regularly. I have a rule that the boys shall go around and fill 
up the troughs with water twice in the morning after feeding, and 
twice in the afternoon, always commencing everything in the shape 
of feed, water, salt, etc., with number one, and always ending with 
the last yard or stable. 

Littering, cannot under any circumstances be neglected. I have 
often stood in the yard or stable, and noticed when the bedding was 
becoming wet or dirty, how careful the sheep were to keep out of it, 
and how reluctantly they would lie down. As soon as they got a 
nice clean bedding, they would drop down upon it, and lie there as 
contented and happy, to all appearances, as an exhausted and worn- 
out person would on a bed of down ; and here I shall take the 
liberty to say, that in my humble opinion, this is the time and the 
only time they accumulate flesh. Salt, ashes, etc., should also never 
be forgotten ; no, not for a single day. 

Quietness, also, is of the greatest importance, and, in order to secure 



10 The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 

it, I have a rule never to allow strangers in the yard, unless accom- 
panied by the feeder. The sight of a stranger in the yard will send 
the sheep pell-mell in every direction, and the effect will be per- 
ceived for a whole day afterward ; and no other reason can I assign 
for the forty sheep in the upper part of shed number one doing better 
than the rest, but that we never go there except to feed, water, litter, 
etc., and there is no passing or re-passing through them as through 
the other pens. 

The question is frequently asked, " what kind of grain is best for 
fattening sheep ? " I answer, for me, corn is the best for the main 
feed, although I like a few oats mixed to start with, and have no 
objections to beans, peas and oilmeal if they do not cost too much. 
Whenever they cost as much, or more than corn, I dispense with 
them, as a sheep feeder must count his cost, as well as his reputation, 
if he intends to succeed. Another question arises : " Do you find 
whole or ground feed best ? " For horses, cattle and pigs, I prefer 
ground feed, but for sheep, especially fattening sheep, I choose whole 
or unground feed. I find that the sheep will grind it just as well as 
the mill to which we must give every tenth bushel, besides having 
the trouble of hauling the grain to and from it. I also find that fat 
sheep will hold up to their full feed much better, especially in soft 
weather, on whole than on ground feed; consequently, drawing grain 
to and from the mill, and paying toll, is, in my estimation, labor and 
money lost. 

A person to succeed in sheep feeding, must do it because he likes 
to do it, because he prefers to feed sheep and see them eat to any 
other business done in winter; and although he may not be able or 
willing to do the work himself, still he must take delight in seeing it 
well attended to, if he expects to prosper. He should be sure to see 
every sheep he has, at least once a day, when, if he understands his 
business, he can fell at a glance whether they have been properly 
cared for. 

It is asked : " What kind of hay is best for sheep ? " Emphatically 
I say clover, but it should be cut early and cured nice and green. 



The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. H 

Timothy is probably best for horses, but for cattle and sheep I prefer 
clover, and would rather have a ton of nice green fine clover than a 
ton of timothy, although in market one ton of timothy will bring as 
much as two of clover. I have sometimes fed some timothy hay to 
my sheep, but always found that it was not the kind for them ; they 
would grow lank and thin upon it, not a very good sign that a fatten- 
ing animal is thriving well. As soon as they got the clover again 
they would plump up and look full and nice, and I can assure you. 
unless your sheep look full and plump, they are not fattening very 
fast. 

Is straw good for feeding sheep ? One feed at noon of nice bright 
oat, barley or pea straw, I prefer to hay, as they not only relish it, 
but it is a change for them. Sheep are very fond of variety, and 
will eat daisies, weeds, thistles or almost anything of the kind that is 
cut and cured green. JN"ice green corn-stalks are not very bad for 
sheep, and when I have plenty of them I always feed the sheep witli 
them at least once a day, and consider them as good as hay. I pre- 
fer, however, feeding them the fore part of the winter, as towards 
spring they will sometimes contract dampness, and then the sheep do 
not eat them so well. 

I am asked to answer this question : " Shall we cultivate roots for 
fattening sheep ; and what is their value compared with grain ? " I 
have often thought I would experiment a little on this subject, but as 
the trial is attended with considerable pains and trouble to have 
it accurate, without which it is of no use, I have put it off from win- 
ter to winter, and now have no figures to give. I intend yet to test 
this question thoroughly. However, I will answer as well as I can, 
and as I have used more or less roots every year since I commenced 
feeding sheep, I think that I have a pretty good idea about them. I 
will say then, cultivate roots by all means, if you have plenty of 
of manure, and intend to put your land in proper condition ; if not, 
you may better leave it alone, as you will surely get more grass and 
weeds than roots. I was successful in raising about 1,800 bushels of 
flat turnips last season on about two and a half acres of land, and 



12 



The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 



with very little labor. Early in the spring we covered the ground with 
about fifty loads of manure from one of the sheep sheds, and plowed 
it in about seven inches deep. Just before the time arrived to put in 
ruta-baga seed, the ground was harrowed, another light dressing of 
fine manure put on and worked in with a gang plow about three 
inches deep. It was then well harrowed, and the seed immediately 
sown. The seed proving bad, I gang-plowed the land again and 
sowed new seed. This time the seed came beautifully, but was soon 
destroyed by the turnip fly, when as a last resort, I gang-plowed it 
again, sowed the common purple-top turnip, and had the result stated. 
On account of the frequent gang-plowing by which the weeds were 
destroyed, we had no trouble but to thin out the plants. Part of the 
seed was put in with a large seed-planter, and part sowed broadcast, 
and in thinning the plants where the seed was put in with the 
planter, the work could be done in one-half ithe time that was required 
where the seed was sown broadcast. 

With regard to the value of roots for feeding, my experience is that 
whenever they are worth at home more that seventy-five cents per 
barrel, and corn not over from one dollar to one dollar and twenty- 
five cents per bushel, the corn is the cheapest, and I would use only 
a few roots as a substitute for green food. I consider carrots and 
ruta-bagas better than common turnips ; still by feeding a little 
more of the latter than the former, I think the sheep do just as well 
on them. 

Another inquiry is, " How often do you clean out your yards and 
stables in winter ?" Not at all, unless I perceive danger to the build- 
ings from the weight of the sheep and manure on these upper floors ; 
then we remove a quantity sufficient to make the building safe, and 
leave all the rest until the sheep are sold, when we find the manure 
so hard and solid that it must often be cut with an axe or hay-knife 
into blocks before it can be handled ; thus showing that no decompo- 
sition has taken place during the feeding season. 

Feeding with me is always commenced about half-past five in the 
morning, when I always endeavor to be there, and see that every- 



The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 13 

thing is right; and give special orders, if necessary, for the day. 
The best help will sometimes put off for to-morrow what should be 
done to-day, and this is worse in stock feeding than in any other 
business. 

I hold that the noses of the sheep should be smeared with tar, at 
least four times through the feeding season; first, when they are 
brought home in the fall ; second, when they go into their winter 
quarters, and then twice during the winter. By doing this we pre- 
vent all trouble with colds and foul noses. The old method of catch- 
ing and holding the sheep to perform this operation made it a labori- 
ous task, and I now practice a new and easier way of doing it. We 
simply take two or three of the sheep boxes which I have already 
described, which are loose and can be set anywhere, and make a small 
yard under the shed, and drive the sheep in, and pack them closely ; 
one man holds the bucket of tar, and two or three, each with a wooden 
tar-ladle, jump right in among the sheep, and without catching or 
holding the sheep, put the tar on, commencing at one end and com- 
ing out at the other ; and this job, for six or eight hundred sheep 
that used the old way to take us almost all day, can now be done 
in less than two hours, besides being so much less injurious to the 
sheep. 

When I went into the sheep-feeding business, years ago, it was more 
with a view to the consequent improvement of the land (it would 
hardly grow a crop of good beans then), than to make the ready dol- 
lar. In this I have fully succeeded. I wanted to make two spears 
of grass grow where but one grew before, and I am sure I am getting 
three, some of my neighbors say four ; however, I call it three. The 
meadows that used to cut from one-half to one ton of hay per acre, 
now yield on an average Over two. Raising rye was then out of 
the question ; last year I got from about sixteen acres, 400 bushels 
of rye, and straw enough to have amounted to near $900, if I had 
sold it (which I never do unless I replace it by hay for bedding, as I 
have done this year, getting three tons of hay for one ton of straw). 
This year I got, from forty-five bushels sowing, fifty loads. 



14 The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 

For fear of misleading, you, I must say, that with all the experi- 
ence and precaution in buying, good fixtures, plenty of feed, litter, 
care, etc., you will not always succeed. For though I have for the 
last twelve years studied the thing closely, and carried it out care- 
fully, in spite of all my efforts I have not always made money, and 
would almost guarantee that out of every ten new sheep-feeders, eight 
will probably feed but one year. When a friend asks my advice on 
the subject, I always say to him, try twenty-five or fifty, and then, if 
you like it, get more the next year. Some have looked upon this 
advice as selfish and given to keep others out, and have rushed into 
the business, and not only the first year made no money, but actually 
lost nearly half their investment. We used to have several sheep 
feeders in this and adjoining counties, and, as the principal feeders 
have all left the business except myself, I think this is pretty conclu- 
sive evidence that what I now say is about Tight. 

In regard to the profit of the different breeds of sheep for fatten- 
ing, allow me to say, that in my twelve years experience in feeding, 
I have found the breed of sheep to have much to do with their early 
maturity, weight, and fattening qualities. I have had Leicesters and 
their grades, Cotswold grades, South Down grades, Merinos and their 
grades, and have always found that whenever the Leicester blood 
predominated, I had an animal that would fatten quick at an 
early age, and make good weight, and have had no trouble when 
the animal has been half or more of Leicester blood, with good 
keeping, to make him dress 100 pounds of mutton at twenty months 
old. 

I have lately been informed by a Western JSTew York gentleman, 
that I am represented among fine-wooled sheep men as having changed 
my views on the question of feeding coarse or fine-wooled sheep, and 
that I am now in favor of fine wools. I think my experiment of last 
winter on this point, printed in the Country Gentleman of April 
30th, 1868, would satisfy any one to the contrary. Nevertheless, 
having found' it impossible to get coarse-wooled wethers enough for 
feeding the present winter, I am again fattening a number of fine- 



The Fattening of Sheep in Winter. 15 

wools ;■ but not from choice. Among the latter is one with a ring in 
his horn, which, as I was told by the man from whom I got him, was 
once sold for three hundred dollars. I was glad to get rid of him, 
although he was fat, for five dollars and fifty cents ; and as to fine- 
wools generally, I am fully convinced they will not make me 
more than half the money for winter feeding that the coarse-wools 
will. 



